Aimed not so much at French car buyers as to those with a taste for European flavour, Citroen says its C3 hatchback offers a new alternative to the usual European faces in the local shopping mall car-park (including Volkswagen's impressive Polo and the ageing Peugeot 207).

The first thing that sets the C3 apart is its appearance. It wears Citroen's new design language, with a front end similar to that of its sportier three-door DS3 counterpart, the C3's aggressive snout and cutesy rear make for an interesting and eye-catching combination. One glaring omission, though, is the lack of alloy wheels - even on the top-end Exclusive models (they are optional, though).

We got behind the wheel of the 1.6-litre petrol-powered automatic-only Exclusive at the C3's local launch this week, and found that despite wearing a lack of spunky wheels (with coloured plastic wheel covers fitted instead) the C3 features a rather more interesting design feature - an oversized windscreen that sweeps back behind the driver's head.

This nifty extra is only available on the Exclusive models, and is fitted with a clever sliding cover which effectively enables the driver to pull the roof-lining forward to its conventional position should they choose to do so. The roof-lining also locks off in several different positions, allowing for different glass to roof ratios if desired. And it's progressively tinted, so it's not too bright even in direct sunlight.

But while the "Zenith" windscreen is a nice touch, there are some downsides. Firstly, it can make things a little steamy up-front - the glass, while tinted, doesn't seem to block heat that effectively. The sliding roof also has built-in sun-visors which lack vanity mirrors (a downer for the style-conscious female buyers at which the car is being targeted) and don't swivel, meaning the driver is unable to block sunlight coming in from the side windows of the car. Rear-seat headroom is also impacted due to the space required for the sliding roof, with taller folk likely to feel somewhat cramped.

Legroom in the back is pretty good though, especially for a car of such small proportions. While the new C3 is both longer and wider than its predecessor, it still measures up on the small side against its peers (at just 3.94 metres long and 1.73 metres wide).

Up front, there's plenty of space, and storage is also good for all occupants - bottle holders in each door, and there are a few cubbies in the dash to stash your goodies, along with a fold-down armrest with storage (only available in the Exclusive models).

The seats are comfortable but lack support, and the front seats may feel a tad small to some drivers. The driver's seat feels too high, and there's no lumbar adjustment. There's also little in the way of bolstering in the back-seat.

Out on the road, it becomes clear that stylish looks are the main focus of this car. The ride is pretty good around town, with little in the way of thumping, and no crashiness to speak of, but it did tend to jitter about over rougher surfaces.

On the open road, the C3 is soft and pillowy, not so much feeling bumps as soaking them up and floating over them, with a disconcerting lack of road-feel the end result. To put it another way - it feels as though it's been tuned for comfort than for driver involvement - which is fine. Unless you like driving.

The soft, disconnected feel continues to the C3's steering. The overly light steering wheel moves too easily at low speeds and feels inconsistently weighted a lot of the time, with a vague, disconnected feel at both city and highway speeds. In corners, that lack of a connection does very little to inspire confidence. It also feels as though the steering wheel constantly wants to re-centre, which can be problematic considering the C3's wallowy ride.

Noise-wise, there is some intrusion into the cabin. Tyre roar is noticeable at most speeds on coarse chip roads, and noise transferral from the bumps on the road regularly communicated into the cabin. On smoother surfaces, though, it cruises along almost silently.

The engine, however, becomes very vocal in the upper end of the rev-range, and the archaic four-speed automatic transmission we tested means you'll be spending quite a bit of time listening to the uninspiring power-plant whining at higher revs.

The transmission struggled to choose the right gear in most situations, with a CVT-like drone becoming rather annoying on our short drive loop. Down-shifts were clunky and unintuitive, and up-shifts were also far from refined.

If you're keen for the car to behave more like it looks, pressing the "S" (Sports) button near the shifter will placate you. To an extent.

Sports mode makes the transmission hold gears for longer, and also manages to smooth out the clunky down-changes. And, by allowing the engine to rev out, it also allows the C3 to reach its peak power of 88kW, which comes at a somewhat deafening 6000rpm.

But driving around in Sports mode is not what this car is about. It feels as though it's about standing out from the Euro car crowd. It's about driving something different to a Volkswagen Polo. And, after spending just a few hours in the new C3, we can assure you there's plenty of flavour to the new C3 - it just might not be to all tastes.